Mobile-To-Mobile Payment System and Method

ABSTRACT

A mobile-to-mobile payment method and system are presented. One or more payor messages are received at a payment server from a mobile device associated with a payor. The one or more payor messages include an identifier of a payee and an amount. The identifier of the payee is associated with a payee account, and the mobile device is associated with a payor account. The payment server executes a transfer of funds of the amount from the payor account to the payee account.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 toU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/859,143, filed on Nov.14, 2006, and entitled, “Mobile-to-Mobile Payment System and Method”,the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates generally to mobile computing applications, andmore particularly to techniques for employing a credit device processoron a mobile device such as a cellular phone.

Currently, there is no credit device processor on a mobile device suchas cellular phone. A credit device processor can process transactionsusing a credit device such as a credit card. Thus, many consumers arecurrently having to write a paper check, wire funds, or send paymentsfor something via, mail, which includes electronic mail as well asregular mail. Many, if not all, of these payment schemes includetransaction fees.

What is needed is a cost-effective and convenient way for payments to bemade from one mobile device to another, whether such mobile-to-mobilearrangement is a business-to-business (B2B), a business-to-consumer(B2C), or consumer-to-consumer (C2C).

SUMMARY

In general, this document discusses systems and methods formobile-to-mobile payment. In some implementations, the term “mobile” caninclude a device such as a cellular phone or other wirelesscommunication device.

The system and method facilitate mobile payment using the shortmessaging service (SMS) or text messaging application on a mobiledevice. In most implementations, a mobile payment method includes payingpeople for services, money owed, or anything related to the exchange ofmoney or funds.

In one aspect, a mobile-to-mobile payment method includes a step ofreceiving at a payment server one or more payor messages from a mobiledevice associated with a payor, the one or more payor messages includingan identifier of a payee and an amount. The method further includes thesteps of associating the identifier of the payee with a payee account,associating the mobile device with a payor account, and the paymentserver executing a transfer of funds of the amount from the payoraccount to the payee account.

In another aspect, a mobile-to-mobile payment system includes acommunications network having at least one wireless link to communicatewith a plurality of mobile devices. The system further includes apayment server adapted to receive one or more payment messages from apayor's mobile devices, the one or more payor messages including anidentifier of a payee and an amount. The payment server is furtheradapted to associate the identifier of the payee with a payee account,associate the payor's mobile device with a payor account, and execute atransfer of funds of the amount from the payor account to the payeeaccount.

In yet another aspect, a mobile device includes a user interface forreceiving instruction data for a mobile-to-mobile payment process, and atranslator to translate the instruction data to one or more paymentmessages to control a payment server that executes the mobile-to-mobilepayment process, the payment messages including an identifier of a payeeand an amount of a payment. The mobile device further includes amessaging service adapted to transmit the payment messages to a paymentserver via a communications network having at least one wireless link.

In still another aspect, a mobile messaging service for a mobile device,includes an outbound messaging component for sending payment messagesfrom the mobile device to a payment server, the payment messagesincluding an identifier of a payee and an amount of a payment. Themessaging service further includes an inbound messaging component forreceiving confirmation messages from the payment server to the mobiledevice, the confirmation messages including prompts for furtherinformation and/or prompts for an acknowledgement to be sent on theoutbound messaging component.

The advantages include lower risk of exposing financial information overwireless networks, quick and easy payment, no wire transfer fees, securepayment transfer of funds over the Internet and not wireless network.Other advantages include no need of credit card processor on cell phone,no credit card transaction fees, and no need for a user to write checks.Further, the system and method supports international transactions.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features and advantages willbe apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects will now be described in detail with referenceto the following drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates one scenario of a mobile-to-mobile paymentarrangement.

FIG. 2 illustrates another scenario of a mobile-to-mobile paymentarrangement.

FIG. 3 illustrates a mobile-to-mobile payment system.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This document describes systems and methods for mobile-to-mobilepayment. The term “mobile” can include a device such as a cellular phoneor other wireless communication device. The systems and methodsfacilitate payment from one party to another using the short messagingservice (SMS) or text messaging application on a mobile device and via acommunications network having at least one wireless link. In mostimplementations, a mobile payment method includes paying people forservices, money owed, or anything related to the exchange of money orfunds.

As an illustrative example, two people, Payor and Payee, have signed upahead of time online through a website for a service for enablingmobile-to-mobile payments, but instead of making a payment from Payor toPayee through email, payment is actually made from an account associatedwith one mobile device to an account with another mobile device. Theenabling mechanism is a messaging or text service operable by at leastone, and preferably both, mobile devices. Each mobile device may be,without limitation, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant, ahandheld computer, or any other device that enables wireless datacommunication, and which includes an alphanumeric keypad by which a usercan enter in alphanumeric codes and commands. Each person in the examplecan represent an individual or an entity, such as a business, group, orother such entity.

With reference to FIG. 3, the mobile-to-mobile payment system 300enables a payment from a first mobile device 302 to a second mobiledevice 304. For sake of simplicity and for exemplary purposes only, thefirst mobile device 302 is associated with a payor, and the secondmobile device 304 is associated with a payee. The first mobile device302 interacts with a payment server 306 via a messaging service. Themessaging service can be the Short Messaging Service (SMS) or othermessaging application used by the first mobile device 302. The messagescommunicated to the payment server 306 from first mobile device 302 caninclude a payor ID (i.e. identifier such as mobile device ID ortelephone number of the first mobile device 302), an identifierassociated with payee (i.e. identifier such as mobile device ID ortelephone number of the second mobile device 304, etc.), an amount to bepaid, and request codes, confirmation codes, and other messages. Forexample, to access the payment server 306, payor can enter a random orpredetermined alphanumeric code on the first mobile device 302 andtransmit the code to the payment server to begin the payment process.

The payment server 306 can include a website that may include amobile-formatted webpage through which users can interact via mobiledevices. The payment server 306 includes a database, and is configuredto receive messages from the mobile devices, identify and associateaccounts with users, and automatically match received messages withusers based either on a caller ID or embedded code within a message. Thecode may be the result of an interactive graphical user interface (GUI)provided by the website to the display screen of a mobile device. TheGUI can have a number of graphical buttons, boxes or links, some ofwhich are associated with or otherwise manipulated by activatable keyson a keypad or other physical controls of a mobile device.

The payment server 306 associates a payor with a payor account, receivesan indication of the payee and payment amount from a mobile deviceassociated with the payor, associates the payee, payor, and paymentamount information with their respective embodiments as represented bydata stored in the database 308, and at least partially interactively,via mobile devices 302 and 304, executes the payment transaction fromthe payor's account 310 to the payee's account 312.

A first scenario 100 is illustrated in a flowchart shown in FIG. 1, anddiscussed in further detail below:

At 102, Payor sends, via text messages or other messaging service toPayee, a message including a code or a keyword such as “Pay to 10958.”The code 10958 represents a short code which directs communication to apayment server that hosts a mobile-to-mobile payment website. Thekeyword is an identifier of the function, and as such the keyword can beany string of alphanumeric characters or symbols. Once Payor textmessages “Pay to 10958,” the payment server recognizes the requestingPayor through caller ID, and determines which account is to be debited,i.e. an account associated with Payor.

At 104, the payment server responds back to Payor, via SMS or other textmessaging service, with a message including a prompt for Payor to entera cell phone number or other identifying number associated with a mobiledevice of Payee, who Payor wants to pay. This and other messages fromthe payment server can be interpreted by a local application on a mobiledevice used by the payor to generate an interactive GUI, whichtranslates messages into interactive components and user inputs intomessages. In preferred implementations, at 106, Payor enters in hismobile device the Payee's cell phone number, or other identifier, andhits “send.”

At 108, the payment server matches the Payee's cell phone number to anaccount to be paid, and generates response message to Payor promptingPayor to enter in the amount to pay Payee. At 110 Payor enters in anamount, such as “10.00,” and hits “SEND.” At 112, a message with promptfor a confirmation is sent to Payor or even Payee to indicates thatPayor has paid Payee $10.00, and the payment is transferred to anaccount associated with Payee. In some implementations, the specificaccount can be identified by either Payee or Payor via text messaging ofan account code. At 114, Payor responds with a confirmation to thepayment server. At 116, the payment server causes the transfer of thepayment from Payor's account to the Payee's account, and can sendanother confirmation message to either Payor and/or Payee.

A second scenario 200 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2.

At 202 Payor text messages a keyword such as “Pay to 10958,” which is acode that directs communication to a payment server. The short code canbe anything that is issued by any of the wireless carriers or governmentagencies. Once Payor text messages “Pay to 10958,” the payment serverrecognizes the requesting Payor through caller ID and knows whichaccount is going to be debited. At 204, the payment server responds backto Payor via SMS or other messaging server, prompting Payor to enter ina Payee identifying number or code and an amount, which indicates thatPayee is the person to be paid and how much should be paid,respectively.

At 206 Payor enters in the number of the person to pay, and the amountto pay, Payor hits “send” or a similar button or function of the mobiledevice. In one implementation, the format on a display appears asfollows: “8586996163, 10.00”. A response text message is returned toPayor confirming the phone number or name of person that Payor is aboutto pay, along with amount to be paid to Payee. At 208, the paymentserver associates the Payee's identifier with an account, and respondsto payor with a message having a confirmation of the Payee and theamount.

At 210 Payor replies with an acknowledgement message, i.e. “yes” toconfirm or “no” to cancel. If yes, then a confirmation text message toPayee gets sent that says Payor has paid $10.00 to Payee, and the fundsare transferred from an account associated with Payor to an accountassociated with Payee. If no, then a text message is returned to Payorprompting for the cell phone number of Payee, the text message askingwhether Payee is the person they want to pay and how much. At 212, thepayment server credits an account of the Payee, via banking applicationconnected with Payor's and Payee's account, and sends a message toeither Payee and/or Payor with a confirmation of the completion of thetransaction.

Embodiments of the invention and all of the functional operationsdescribed in this specification can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including thestructures disclosed in this specification and their structuralequivalents, or in combinations of them. Embodiments of the inventioncan be implemented as one or more computer program products, i.e., oneor more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computerreadable medium, e.g., a machine readable storage device, a machinereadable storage medium, a memory device, or a machine-readablepropagated signal, for execution by, or to control the operation of,data processing apparatus.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all apparatus, devices,and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers.The apparatus can include, in addition to hardware, code that creates anexecution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., codethat constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, or a combination of them. Apropagated signal is an artificially generated signal, e.g., amachine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, thatis generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiverapparatus.

A computer program (also referred to as a program, software, anapplication, a software application, a script, or code) can be writtenin any form of programming language, including compiled or interpretedlanguages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a standalone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unitsuitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does notnecessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can bestored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g.,one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a singlefile dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinatedfiles (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, orportions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed onone computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site ordistributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communicationnetwork.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devicesfor storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will alsoinclude, or be operatively coupled to, a communication interface toreceive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storagedevices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto optical disks, oroptical disks.

Moreover, a computer can be embedded in another device, e.g., a mobiletelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio player, aGlobal Positioning System (GPS) receiver, to name just a few.Information carriers suitable for embodying computer programinstructions and data include all forms of non volatile memory,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal harddisks or removable disks; magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the invention canbe implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT(cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, fordisplaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device,e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to thecomputer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interactionwith a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can beany form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback,or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in anyform, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

Embodiments of the invention can be implemented in a computing systemthat includes a back end component, e.g., as a data server, or thatincludes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, or thatincludes a front end component, e.g., a client computer having agraphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user caninteract with an implementation of the invention, or any combination ofsuch back end, middleware, or front end components. The components ofthe system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital datacommunication, e.g., a communication network. Examples of communicationnetworks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a wide area network(“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

Certain features which, for clarity, are described in this specificationin the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided incombination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features which,for brevity, are described in the context of a single embodiment, mayalso be provided in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitablesubcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Particular embodiments of the invention have been described. Otherembodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example,the steps recited in the claims can be performed in a different orderand still achieve desirable results. In addition, embodiments of theinvention are not limited to database architectures that are relational;for example, the invention can be implemented to provide indexing andarchiving methods and systems for databases built on models other thanthe relational model, e.g., navigational databases or object orienteddatabases, and for databases having records with complex attributestructures, e.g., object oriented programming objects or markup languagedocuments. The processes described may be implemented by applicationsspecifically performing archiving and retrieval functions or embeddedwithin other applications.

1.-20. (canceled)
 21. A mobile-to-mobile payment method comprising:receiving at a payment server one or more payment messages from a mobiledevice associated with a payor, the one or more payment messagesincluding a code for transmitting the one or more payment messages tothe payment server; sending a prompt from the payment server to themobile device associated with the payor to enter an identifier of amobile device associated with a payee; receiving at the payment serverfrom the mobile device associated with the payor a message including theidentifier of the mobile device associated with the payee; sending aprompt from the payment server to the mobile device associated with thepayor to enter an amount to be paid to the payee; receiving at thepayment server from the mobile device associated with the payor amessage including the amount to be paid to the payee; in response to themessage received from the mobile device associated with the payorincluding the amount to be paid to the payee, sending a message from thepayment server to the mobile device associated with the payor confirmingthe amount to be paid to the payee; receiving at the payment server fromthe mobile device associated with the payor an acknowledgement messageconfirming that funds should be transferred by the payment server froman account associated with the payor to an account associated with thepayee.
 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising the payment servergenerating a confirmation message indicating that the transferring offunds has been completed.
 23. The method of claim 22, further comprisingtransmitting the confirmation message to the mobile device associatedwith the payor.
 24. The method of claim 21, wherein the one or morepayment messages are short messaging service messages.
 25. The method ofclaim 21, wherein the one or more payment messages are generated by aclient application on the mobile device associated with the payor. 26.The method of claim 21, wherein the identifier of the mobile deviceassociated with the payee is a cell phone number of the mobile device.27. A mobile-to-mobile payment system comprising: a communicationsnetwork having at least one wireless link to communicate with aplurality of mobile devices; and a payment server adapted to: receiveone or more payment messages from a payor's mobile device, the one ormore payment messages including a code for transmitting the one or morepayment messages to the payment server; send a prompt to the payor'smobile device to enter an identifier of a mobile device associated witha payee; receive a message from the payor's mobile device including theidentifier of the mobile device associated with the payee; send a promptto the payor's mobile device to enter an amount to be paid to the payee;receiving at the payment server from the mobile device associated withthe payor message including the amount to be paid to the payee; inresponse to the message from the payor's mobile device including theamount to be paid to the payee, send a message to the payor's mobiledevice confirming the amount to be paid to the payee; receive anacknowledgement message from the payor's mobile device confirming thatfunds should be transferred from an account associated with the payor toan account associated with the payee.
 28. The system of claim 27,wherein payment server is further adapted to generate a confirmationmessage indicating that the transferring of funds has been completed.29. The system of claim 27, wherein the payment server is furtheradapted to transmit the confirmation message to the payor's mobiledevice.
 30. The system of claim 27, wherein the one or more paymentmessages are short messaging service messages.
 31. The system of claim27, wherein the one or more payment messages are generated by a clientapplication on the payor's mobile device.
 32. The system of claim 27,wherein the identifier of the mobile device associated with the payee isa cell phone number of the mobile device.
 33. A mobile devicecomprising: a user interface for receiving instruction data for amobile-to-mobile payment process; a translator to translate theinstruction data to one or more payment messages to control a paymentserver that executes the mobile-to-mobile payment process, wherein: thepayment messages include an identifier of a mobile device associatedwith a payee, an amount of a payment to be paid to the payee and a codefor transmitting the one or more payment messages to the payment server,and the mobile-to-mobile payment process includes: sending a prompt fromthe payment server to a mobile device associated with a payor to enterthe identifier of the mobile device associated with the payee; receivingat the payment server from the mobile device associated with the payormessage including the identifier of the mobile device associated withthe payee; sending a prompt from the payment server to the mobile deviceassociated with the payor to enter amount to be paid to the payee;receiving at the payment server from the mobile device associated withthe payor a message including the amount to be paid to the payee; inresponse to the message received from the mobile device associated withthe payor including the amount to be paid to the payee, sending amessage from the payment server to the mobile device associated with thepayor confirming the amount to be paid to the payee; receiving at thepayment server from the mobile device associated with the payor anacknowledgement message confirming that funds should be transferred bythe payment server from an account associated with the payor to anaccount associated with the payee; and a messaging service adapted totransmit the one or more payment messages to the payment server via acommunications network having at least one wireless link.
 34. The mobiledevice of claim 33, further comprising a display for displayingconfirmation messages received from the payment server.
 35. A mobilemessaging service thr enabling mobile-to-mobile payments, the servicecomprising: a messaging component operating on a mobile device, whereinthe messaging component: sends one or more payment messages to a paymentserver, the one or more payment messages including a code fortransmitting the one or more payment messages to the payment server;receives a prompt from the payment server to enter an identifier of amobile device associated with a payee; sends to the payment server amessage including the identifier of the mobile device associated withthe payee; receives a prompt from the payment server to enter an amountto be paid to the payee; send to the payment server a message includingthe amount to be paid to the payee; in response to the message sent tothe payment server including the amount to be paid to the payee,receives a message from the payment server confirming the amount to bepaid to the payee; sends an acknowledgement message to the paymentserver confirming that funds should be transferred from an accountassociated with the payor to an account associated with the payee; andreceives a confirmation message from the payment server indicating thatthe funds have been transferred from the account associated with thepayor to the account associated with the payee.
 36. The mobile messagingservice of claim 35, wherein the messaging component includes a shortmessaging service.
 37. The mobile messaging service of claim 35, furthercomprising a translation component for translating the single prompt,the message confirming the identifier of the mobile device associatedwith the payee and the amount to be paid to the payee, or theconfirmation message indicating that the funds have been transferredfrom the account associated with the payor to the account associatedwith the payee from the payment server from text-based messages tographical elements.
 38. The mobile messaging service of claim 37,wherein the translation component is further adapted to translate theone or more payment messages into text-based messages.